Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop, or the characters in it, though I wouldn't mind owning a few of them. I'm not making any money on this, I'm just a poor college student with an over-active imagination. Hope you like it though. This is my first try on a Cowboy Bebop story, so don't be too harsh on me.
Warning: Contains spoilers. You have been warned.
Gunning Down Romance
by Mira Spiegel
Session One: Dream When You're Feeling Blue
A strangely familiar melody drifted across his fevered mind. The notes were hummed by a person who had a natural harmony. Despite his sick and wounded state, Spike Spiegal reconized the voice and the song. Both shared the same name.
Julia.
Maybe during his final fight with Vicious, he had died. Maybe this was his afterlife. Maybe he finally had found happiness. Or maybe Julia had been right. Her final words haunted his memory and the thought of that cold rain that pelted him as he held her sent a shiver down his spine.
It's only a dream.
What if it was? His whole life, all his memories and even now, what if it all was a dream? He wanted to wake up. Find out if it was a dream, and if it was, start living his real life. There was only one way to find out.
Spike forced his eyes open and waited till his vision focused. He carefully tensed his muscles to see how bad his injuries were. Working from the neck down, he got to his shoulders and stopped. He had been reduced to a busted up mess. He blinked his eyes to clear the haze. At least they worked. The ceiling was white. A fan made lazy circles overhead. It must have been during the day since the light wasn't on.
A small sound of a chair scraping against a wood floor came from his right. He tried turning his head, but white hot pain shot through his neck. His eyes snapped shut and he gritted his teeth.
"Don't move anything."
That voice. A slightly different timber than Julia's, but his hearing could be off as well. Slowly his eyes opened once more in response to the familiar, gentle hand on his shoulder. The fine featured face of a woman smiled down at him. Long locks of blonde hair hung over her shoulders and around her face. That wonderful smile greeted him.
"Julia."
The smile faded and was replaced with a look of confusion. The vision seemed to shimmer and change. The hair shortened slightly, the features of the woman shifted into sharper lines. Spike closed his eyes again in defeat.
Julia had been right.
It was a cruel, horrible dream and nothing more. He wasn't even sure if he would ever wake up from it. The pain didn't seem to be as unbearable now. Ignoring the protests of his neck muscles, Spike turned his head away from the woman and retreated back into the safe protection of slumber, hoping he didn't dream.
She sat back in the chair and picked up her music ledger that she had been working on. Looking back at the sleeping man on the bed, she watched closely, making sure his breathing remained steady. His banaged chest rose and fell with deep breaths that assured her he was sleeping.
Julia.
She had been trying to get a hold of Spike's old love for the past week. Being an information broker, she was surprised to find such drastic changes happening in the Red Dragon Syndicate. From the looks of what was being transmitted, Vicious had killed the elders of the clan and tried taking over himself. Naturally Spike would go to stop Vicious. Once she had discovered that information she had tried to warn Julia. But after many vieled messages, she came to the conclusion that Julia had already went into hiding.
She had tracked down Spike and followed him to the Red Dragon head quarters. Knowing an all out war was about to take place, she kept to the shadows and waited. When the dust settled, she ventured out to pick up the pieces. She was no longer a Red Dragon, but there were certain people that she would always remain loyal to. Spike and Julia were two of them. The now late leader of the Syndicate, Mao Yenrai was the third.
Spike had gone out of his way to help her get out of the Dragons. Nursing him back to health after getting wounded by Vicious was the least she could do. She looked down at the phone in her hand. And getting Julia here as soon as possible was the best thing she could do. The look in his eyes when he saw she wasn't Julia only made her want to reach the blond haired woman even more. Pressing the redial button, she prayed Julia was there.
"I'm not here right now, please leave a message."
"Hey Julia, it's Mira. I have a Christmas present for you. Let me know when we can get together. Call me."
A slow smile crept across the ashen skin of the man that leaned casually against the couch in the apartment. Shaggy white hair just scraped the collar of his coat and hid most of his face. Ice cold blue eyes bore through the darkness of the small apartment that had been Julia's. Apparently Mira didn't know of Julia's untimely demise. And if he judged the former Red Dragon's code right, then Mira would be informed very soon.
Spike would see to it. And if Spike was alive, and Mira heard his side of the story, both former Red Dragons would come after him. She always sided with Spike. Just like Julia did. But he wasn't worried about them. They too were beasts that had lost their fangs. And like all beasts that had served their purpose, they had to put out of thier misery. Survival of fittest and all that. Yes, soon they would pay for years of crime. And Vicious would deliver the judgement.